A thin, pointed spire on top of a roof, especially on a church, that sticks up sharply into the sky.
From French flèche meaning 'arrow,' derived from Latin flecha. The architectural term emerged in the 13th century because the spire resembles an arrow pointing upward.
Medieval builders loved visual metaphors—they literally made church roofs shoot arrows toward heaven! You'll spot flèches on Gothic cathedrals across Europe, where they weren't just decorative but also helped rainwater drain properly.
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